This invention relates to a device transformable between a toy, such as a miniature toy vehicle, and an eating utensil, such as a spoon or fork.
It is known to incorporate an eating utensil, such as a spoon or a fork, with a toy vehicle having wheels, such as a miniature truck, in order to turn a child's mealtime into a fun playtime activity. For example, a parent attempting to feed a child who is being fussy with food may wish to divert the child's attention by directing the child's attention to the toy vehicle on the utensil. Also, the wheels of the toy vehicle may be rolled or slid along the top surface of a plate, a table, or a highchair tray to push the food around in the nature of a game to encourage the fussy child to have fun and eat the food.
However, once mealtime is completed, playtime with the utensil is over, because the utensil cannot be safely used as a toy. The child cannot safely play with the toy vehicle, because certain parts of the utensil, e.g., the handle, the fork's tines, the spoon's bowl, etc., extend constantly outwardly of the toy vehicle and are permanently fixed in their extended positions. These constantly exposed utensil parts represent a safety hazard. Children, especially unsupervised youngsters, may be injured by poking themselves or others with such exposed utensil parts, especially so in the case of a fork's tines that are pointed.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a device that is easy to manipulate and transform from an eating utensil to a toy in order to extend a child's safe playtime activity, and to easily manipulate and transform the device back again to an eating utensil in order to enhance playtime activity at mealtime. It is further desirable to provide such a device that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, compact, ornamental in appearance, and durable and safe in use.